Things to do in London this weekend (August 1-2)

Maiden Voyage is back in Burgess Park for its 2026 edition. And, as ever, it has booked some of the finest names and clubnights from across London’s rave scene. Pxssy Palace, HOWL, Live From Earth and UNFOLD will each take over one of the festival’s four stages with their curation of some of the biggest names in contemporary electronic music. Confidence Man will be there, as will HAAi, DJ Heartstring, Taylah Elaine, Tokischa and SHERELLE. 

Historians will claim that Richard Nixon opened China, but as this knotty, celebratory and rather moving doc makes pretty clear, it was actually a pair of big-haired Brits singing ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ that got the whole Sino-Western rapprochement thing going. When they were flown into communist China in April 1985, part of a PR wheeze cooked up by their manager Simon Napier-Bell, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were the fresh faces behind one of the world’s biggest pop bands. As director Mike Christie’s fascinating documentary reveals, there was a much richer, stranger and more complicated reality in the week-and-a-bit the two confused celebrities spent behind the Bamboo Curtain. This film reveals the unexpected legacy of this legendary tour and shows that somewhere in this surreal cultural collision something genuinely meaningful happened.   

Cue Point has been one of London’s best-loved (and most nomadic) eateries for a decade. BBQ pros Mursal Saiq and Joshua Moroney have trucked all over town, from Walworth’s Orbit Brewery through to a recent stint off Brick Lane, but have seemingly now found their forever home at the heroically spacious Notting Hill boozer Garden Bar & Grill. Less a pub and potentially one of west London’s largest private parks, it’s the ideal location to devour this acutely honed and brilliantly over-the-top Afghan-spiked and technically Texan feasting menu. Moroney brings his skills from time as head chef at Smokestak, and Saiq her Afghan heritage, and with their giant smoker, it’s serious BBQ business. Fist-sized brisket burnt end skewers are super sturdy, soft meat trembling under a dark, crumbly bark, and bookended with thick pickles. Black lime pepper chicken bites are elite nuggets, with a crumbly exterior and soft inner meat. Cue Point is very much on point.

Dulwich Picture Gallery's big summer exhibition will be an intriguing contrast with the pastoral landscapes found in its permanent collection. Portrait of a City is all about American urban life, as documented by photographers between 1907 and 2012. It'll offer a fascinating insight into how big cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco grew from low-rise communities into towering assemblages of skyscrapers and multi-lane traffic. Photos from big names including Diane Arbus, Lewis Hine and Dorothea Lange will chart the faces and sights of cities in flux.

Electronic music will be returning to the Old Royal Naval College (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!) again this summer. Labyrinth On The Thames – masterminded by promoter Labryinth – will see different artists from around the world take over the historic digs for six days of unmissable performances. Headliners for 2026 have been confirmed. This week Overmono are heading up August 7 alongside Erika de Casier and Nick Leon b2b Verraco; on August 8, electronic duo Adriatique will perform an extended set, and Anjunadeep will headline on August 9. 

Kerb, London’s OG street food market turned food hall operator, is popping up in SE16 this August with a new weekend food festival focusing on East and Southeast Asian flavours. Kerb Goes East will feature more than 50 traders peddling not just loads of top-quality street food and drink, but also handmade crafts from some great indie brands curated by Urban Garden Fair. Head to the patch outside Corner Corner in Surrey Quays to sample Korean Mexican fusion bites from Komex, Singaporean curry puffs from Old Chang Kee, steak teriyaki donburi bowls from Oishī Don, chicken adobo from Filipino BBQ stall Fili Grillz or nasi goreng from Indonesian eatery Borobudu, followed by Hong Kong-style French toast from Cantoast Bakery or pandan, coconut and raspberry sandos from Lil Wong Bakes for dessert, with live music to enjoy while you feast. 

In 1971, Yorkshireman Roger Hargreaves was having dinner with his eight-year-old son when he asked, ‘What does a tickle look like?’ That was the question that led Hargreaves to invent Mr Tickle, the very first character in his now iconic Mr Men and Little Miss comic series. Fifty-five years later there are more than 90 characters. To pay tribute to them all and, in particular, to birthday boy Mr Tickle, Battersea Power Station is hosting a Mr Men Little Miss takeover. There’ll be workshops in which kids can create wooden characters or door plaques to take home, interactive storytelling sessions and a trail along which you can find hidden characters and unlock free gifts. Tickle himself may even make an appearance. 

If you’re a mother, do you get to be a person too? A separated woman who comes out as a lesbian is torn between motherhood and selfhood, duty and freedom, in Anna Cazenave Cambet’s brutal custody drama. Love Me Tender is based on the bestselling novel by Constance Debré and inspired by Debré’s own life. Vicky Krieps plays Clémence, a make-up free, short-haired, scooter-riding ex-lawyer. Clémence has left her highly paid legal job to become a writer. She has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband Laurent and the pair share joint custody of their eight-year-old son Paul. But when Clémence tells Laurent she now dates women, he files for sole custody. What ensues is a bitter, years-long custody battle fueled by Laurent’s infuriating and borderline evil determination to take Paul away from Clémence entirely. Krieps’ superb performance expertly portrays the impossible, maddening ways society wants to define her. It’s completely compelling. 

Thamesmead Festival has been going for over half a century now, so it knows a thing or two about how to throw an epic party. This family-friendly day out boasts music acts spread out over multiple stages in Southmere Park, as well as dance, comedy acts, a dog show and more. There'll also be stalls selling food, drink and crafts, making it a fun place to hang out, soak up the atmosphere, and get to know Thamesmead's local communities.

For the past five years, Fiya's summer weekender has livened up London by bringing hip hop dancers and fans of all ages to the banks of the Thames, at outdoor venue The Scoop. Now, as its original site is being redeveloped, it’s moved to a warehouse near London Bridge for a special indoor edition. There’ll be interactive workshops for all ages, so you can learn classic moves from the Bogle to the Cabbage Patch. You can also catch internationally renowned dancers in action, dance to DJs, and best of all, watch competitors duke it out in battles for cash prizes, with categories including popping, hip hop, and under-18 all styles. 

He may be 53, but Carlos Acosta isn’t hanging up his ballet shoes yet. The legendary Cuban dancer is taking to the Royal Opera House stage this August for a limited run of Myths & Modern Masters, where he’ll be joined by dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza. Acosta will perform the lead in Christopher Bruce's Rolling Stones-inspired romp Rooster. He’ll also perform José Limón’s 1949 masteripiece inspired by Othello, The Moor’s Pavane, for the first time, and reunite on stage with Acosta Danza in the acclaimed Nutcracker in Havana Suite. 

Things are getting tropical in Croydon. The rooftop of Centrale’s multi-storey car park has been filled with sand, beach huts and a water splash zone to create London’s latest summer hangout. There’s more than sunbathing on offer, though. While the day time will be family-focused, this year the south London spot has launched a new ‘Beach Club’ series on Thursday evenings in August for adults-only. Each week will feature a different theme, from garage DJ nights, drag-hosted lip sync battles and pre-carnival dancehall acts to sip & paint sessions and music bingo, with all the line-ups celebrating South London talent. There’ll also be slap-up street food and drinks. 

You don’t have to venture all the way up to Edinburgh for a cracking dose of comedy in August. Every year, The Roundhouse curates a line-up full of the biggest stars on the circuit. Across 18 days this year, you can expect gigs from the likes of Joe Lycett, Ed Gamble, Katherine Ryan, Sam Campbell, Ed Gamble, Sara Pascoe and Vittorio Angelone. Beyond the stand-ups, there’ll be live podcast recordings, theatrical comedy and interactive shows to watch too.

In a world where adolescence is so often reduced to doomscrolling, six-sevens and brainrot, debut director Imran Perretta’s tender coming-of-age drama puts forward a strong case that children today are still capable of feeling deeply. Co-writers Perretta and playwright Enda Walsh take us to Luton. The town’s unkempt woodlands make the perfect playground for 12-year-old friends, Ish (Farhan Hasnat) and Maram (Yahya Kitana). Their tiny frames already bear adult struggles. For Ish, it’s the loss of his mother; for Maram, who is of Palestinian descent, it’s the conflict in Gaza, leaving him convinced the ‘war is coming’. Childhood should be a refuge from the world's ugliness, but Ish understands how little protection it offers when racial profiling, grief and distant conflicts all arrive on your doorstep at once.

It’s not hard to see why American musical theatre powerhouse Ben Platt was attracted to the British debut of Mark Sonnenblick’s 2018 off-Broadway show. A two-hander, it’s a great vehicle for his talents as a singer and actor. But there’s more to this funny, sad and wistful piece – directed here by David Cromer. It’s New York, 1965, and Platt is Trevor, the singing half of a performing and romantic duo, alongside songwriter Arthur (Gregor Milne). It’s an era when being gay is a threat to life and livelihood. We are Trevor’s audience in smoky Greenwich Village club the Never Get as he tells – and sings – the story of their turbulent relationship and contrasting careers. He’s simultaneously charismatic and achingly vulnerable, sending a gorgeous shiver through every song or landing a wisecrack with a practised twinkle.

Canada Water’s dockside is packed with (free!) cultural goings-on this summer. As part of the new Round the Dock festival, there’s something going on every single day. Get down to the docks on a Tuesday evening, and you’ll get to enjoy a spoken word and live music session from Spit Nights Poetry. On Wednesdays, feed your curiosity at a talk from pub lecture series Pints of Knowledge or on Thursdays, perfect your steps at the salsa nights with Timba Britanica. South London Afro-punk collection Steam Down has curated a programme of acts to take over the floating stage every Friday. At the same time, each Saturday and Sunday will see live jazz and soul performances from the likes of Mark Kavuma, Sophie Faith and Soul Sanctuary Gospel. That’s all on top of dozens of food stalls, loads of family-friendly workshops, a programme of outdoor film screenings and rotating flea markets and craft fairs. 

What a deliciously lubricious spectacle Matthew Bourne’s ‘auto-erotic thriller’ ‘The Car Man’ is. Created in 2000, this dirty mash-up of Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ and film noir classic ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ has to be one of his strongest works. A grubby garage-diner in the ironically named, tiny Midwestern town of Harmony is the setting for this charged, Bard-tinged tale of lust, murder, lies and retribution; here, owner Dino is trying to keep order among swaggering mechanics more interested in brawling and impressing their flouncing floozies. Bourne’s ‘Car Man’ is tuned to perfection. 

Battersea Power Station is adding a free summer funfair to its entertainment offering. Electric Summer is an entire seaside town’s worth of things crammed onto a Thames-side patch of concrete. The centrepiece is a full roller rink with sessions ranging from wobbly first-timers to Thursday date nights. Out on the jetty, pétanque courts turn the riverside into a passable stand-in for the south of France, river views included. There’s also a big wheel for skyline views, dodgems, a wave swinger and boardwalk games including Lobster Pot and Blockbuster.

The world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, Bethlem Royal Hospital, often referred to as Bedlam, looked after several famous patients, including Victorian painter Richard Dadd. Dadd, a former Royal Academy of Schools student and established painter, suffered from delusions whilst on a Middle Eastern tour in 1843, believing the Egyptian god Osiris was influencing him. On his return home, Dadd, convinced his father was the devil, ended up killing him with a knife before fleeing to France. First detained at Bethlem and later moved to Broadmoor Hospital, where he died, he produced some of his most celebrated works, like ‘The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke' whilst incarcerated. This survey exhibition includes more than 100 works, including rarely seen sketches and paintings and a series of watercolours made on his eastern travels. 

Homer’s The Odyssey first engaged Christopher Nolan when he was attached to direct Troy, 20-odd years ago, and he’s been stealth-adapting Western literature’s foundational text ever since. Interstellar puts a time-bending spin on the story of a man trying to make it home; Inception is about trauma and homecoming; and The Dark Knight Rises sends Batman into the underworld to find his way home. So maybe The Odyssey has been the British filmmaker’s real odyssey all along. It’s a movie he could only make at this point in his career, with the full array of tools and treasure at his disposal. It’s definitely Nolan at his most formidable. The ending, one of his very best. The thunderous near-three-hours of storm-tossed seas, clashing steel, vengeful dei ex machina, awe-inspiring monsters, and Oscar-bound A-listers takes unpacking and a second viewing will bring some of the themes and textures into sharper relief. Appreciation will only grow for Ludwig Göransson’s extraordinary expressionist score, the apocalyptic glow of van Hoytema’s nocturnal lighting, and Ellen Mirojnick’s opulent costumes. The results are mythical. 

Alfresco swimming season has officially arrived. To celebrate, Royal Victoria Docks is opening its open-water lido daily over three weeks for Summer Splash. And while other open water swimming can often come with a price tag, this watery oasis is free to use throughout the event. The lifeguard-supervised swimming spot also features sandpits, deckchairs and sunsafe areas to relax in. Head along to lane swim with a backdrop of stunning city views or look out for a programme of family-friendly activities. 

Director Simon Stone’s expansive adaptation of the Greek legend The Oresteia is trashy as hell and yet relentlessly gripping, its three-and-a-half hours whizzing by. The original story starts with one of the most infamous murders in myth, as Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia to the gods in order to allow the vengeful Greeks to sail to Troy. Here, a non-linear structure maximises shock value in a way that clearly takes a leaf or two from the world of true crime podcasts. It’s Greek myth gone Saltburn, and incredibly fun. 

Another year, another spectacular line-up of classical music. This year, the orchestral extravaganza will feature 86 concerts across eight weeks, with over 3,000 artists taking to the stage, with the majority of the action taking place inside the grand surroundings of London’s Royal Albert Hall. There'll be the chance to hear visiting ensembles from all over the world, including The Met Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Mahler Academy Orchestra and the Spanish National Orchestra, as well as innumerable concerts and recitals from the classical music world's biggest stars. This weekend, look out for the National Youth Orchestra taking on Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment playing Mozart and Hayden. 

With admirable chutzpah, London’s latest immersive exhibition offers not just a focus on a single event, but a journey through the entire history of human civilisation. Well, ‘entire’ is a bit much: rather than focus on heavily documented eras of humanity, Timewalk – a creation of the DEM Museums in Türkiye – is dedicated to using immersive tech to plunge you into a succession of semi-mythical ancient civilisations. Starting at Göbeklitepe in Türkiye – widely recognised as the world’s earliest communal gathering site – its various rooms will take you onward to Babylon, Ancient Egypt, the Maya, and Rapa Nui and more, with the idea being to present these vanished societies not as dusty relics but as living, breathing recreations of how they might have been.

After pulling in millions of visitors in Amsterdam and Barcelona, Moco Museum London has landed beside Marble Arch with a three-floor showcase of modern, contemporary and immersive art. Inside, you’ll find more than 100 works from names including Banksy, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama, alongside immersive digital rooms and sensory installations designed to pull you into the artwork. There’s also the limited-run exhibition ‘Voice of the Street’, dedicated to Haring’s legendary New York subway drawings from the early 1980s. Flex-entry tickets start from £15, so you can drop in whenever suits during opening hours.

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It’s difficult to talk about Ana Mendieta’s work without first mentioning her death. The Cuban-American artist was just 36 years old when she died in suspicious circumstances in 1985, after allegedly falling from the 34th-floor Manhattan apartment she shared with her husband, the revered modernist sculptor Carl Andre. As a rising star of the avant-garde art scene in 1980s New York, there’s no knowing what brilliant work Ana Mendieta might still be producing if her career hadn’t been cut tragically short. Great news, then, that the Tate Modern is putting the art front and centre this summer, in the largest UK exhibition of Ana Mendieta’s work to date, featuring many pieces never exhibited in this country before. 

Tate Modern has sold more advance tickets for Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon than for any exhibition in the Tate gallery’s 128-year history. It’s not surprising. More than seventy years after her death at the age of 47, the Mexican artist remains a cultural phenomenon: a painter, fashion muse, feminist icon and, as the gift shop attests, a patron saint of tote bags and tea towels.This exhibition explores how Kahlo became one of the most recognisable artists of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for generations of artists who followed. The highlight is by far the first rooms, which feature 23 exquisite paintings and 11 works on paper by Kahlo. They are accompanied by photographs she sat for, her jewellery, and a selection of Indigenous Mexican clothing from Kahlo’s wardrobe. 

Popping up each summer on the steps where the Regent’s Canal passes Granary Square, Everyman’s Screen on the Canal is one of the city’s best loved outdoor cinemas, thanks to its atmospheric setting, eclectic programming and the fact that it doesn’t cost viewers a penny. Pop down on a sunny afternoon to catch live coverage from Wimbledon every day of the tournament, plus the usual mix of live sports, classic movies, family-friendly flicks and recent hits.

If you thought walking up to your favourite painting in the National Gallery was as close as you could get to a masterpiece, think again. At Frameless, 42 masterpieces from 29 of the world’s most iconic artists are presented in ways never seen before, reimagined through cutting-edge technology, animation and soundscapes. Situated in Marble Arch, Frameless plays host to four unique galleries with hypnotic visuals and a dazzling score, where visitiors can enjoy 90 minutes of surreal artwork from Bosch, Dalí and more, for just £23.60.

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